MONACO, France, October 23 – World athletics governing body IAAF, entered into a six-year broadcasting rights deal with China Central Television (CCTV) in the world’s most populous country on Tuesday.
IAAF President Lamine Diack visited the firm’s headquarters on his last day of the visit to the country to sign the agreement with Controller of Sports Jiang Heping in CCTV Tower that is the recently completed 53 floor skyscraper that is now one of Beijing’s landmark buildings and will serve as base for 20,000 staff.
CCTV has been appointed by Dentsu Incorporated, the IAAF’s exclusive agency for marketing rights worldwide and for media rights outside Europe and Africa, for a six year period from 2014-2019.
The agreement covers three editions of the IAAF World Championships, which include the venues of the last two Olympic Games, Beijing 2015 and London 2017, as well as the 2019 World Championships.
CCTV will also have the right to broadcast the following events of the IAAF World Athletics Series in this period, including the IAAF World Indoor Championships, the IAAF Continental Cup, the IAAF World Junior Championships, the IAAF World Youth Championships, the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the recently created IAAF World Relays.
“I am particularly pleased that this agreement will ensure that coverage of the IAAF’s most important events will not only be seen in China but by the broadest possible audience, thanks to CCTV’s status as the country’s most important free to air broadcaster.
“One of the key pillars of the IAAF’s commercial and sporting strategy is to fully develop the potential of our sport in Asia, and this deal is a major step in this direction,” Diack said during the signing ceremony.
CCTV has its Africa office in Nairobi.
